New School
by Anashi Minamoto
Summary: Everyone's happy with a girlfriend or boyfriend. Everyone except Koji. When a new girl comes, he falls for her, and it takes a little help from Shakespeare to finally bring the two together.
1. New girl and a play

"Hey Koji! Koichi!" Takuya yelled, running over to the twins, Darcy, and Stormy. "Guess what I just found out!"

"What?" asked Koji and Koichi. It was still early in the morning, and both boys were too tired to play Takuya's guessing game.

"There's a new girl," said Takuya happily. "I guess she just moved to Shibuya this weekend."

"A new girl?" said Darcy.

"Cool!" said Stormy. "I wonder if she'll be in any of our classes."

Takuya shrugged. "Maybe," he said. "But if she's not, I'm sure we'll see her around."

"Hey, Stormy," said Darcy. "Remember when we came here last year?"

Stormy nodded. "Yeah," she said. "It was kinda scary at first, but then we net these guys."

Darcy sighed happily. "Yeah. I'm so glad we met the perfect boyfriends." She sighed again, the added, "If only we could find a girl for Koji."

Stormy nodded, smiling. "Yeah, then we could go on triple-dates together!" She was hugging Koichi, who was blushing.

"You don't have to do that," said Koji. "I'm fine just the way I am."

"Oh come on Koji," said Takuya. One of his arms was around Darcy's waist. "Don't you ever wonder what it's like to have a girlfriend?"

"Well, sure I do," Koji replied. "But whenever I fall for a girl, she never feels the same way."

The bell rang. "Well, time for class," said Takuya. The others nodded and followed him to their first class. They sat down in their regular seats: Koichi and Stormy in the front row, Takuya and Darcy in the middle row, and Koji in the last row.

A few minutes later, a girl walked in. She had black hair that reached just past her shoulder blades and long bangs. She wore a purple t-shirt, jeans, and black sneakers. She said something to the teacher and handed him a piece of paper. He nodded and turned to address the class. "Class," he said, "I'd like you all to meet Miato-chan. She's new here, so I expect you all will make her feel welcome." He paused and looked at Koji. "Minamoto-kun, could you show Miato-chan around the school? I'm sure I can trust you."

Koji nodded. "Yeah, okay," he said.

The teacher smiled. "Good," he said. He looked around the classroom for an empty seat. The only one was next to Koji. "Why don't you go sit down next to Minamoto-kun."

The girl nodded and took her seat next to Koji, keeping her eyes on the ground the whole time, so no one could get a good look at her. After she sat down, she opened a notebook and started taking notes.

Koji looked at her and smiled slightly. "Um...hi," he said. "I'm Koji."

She looked at him through her clear, dark blue eyes. She smiled, but it was a smile used by people who were hiding things, things they wanted to forget. "It's nice to meet you," she said quietly. "I'm Ami." He voice sounded kind of distant, it was as if she wasn't fully aware of anything around her. A puzzled look soon crossed her face. "Hey, you look a lot like a boy in the front row, but your hair is longer."

"Oh, you mean Koichi?" Koji asked. "Yeah, he's my older twin brother."

Ami nodded. "That makes sense," she said thoughtfully.

"I think you'll like it here," Koji told her. "This is a pretty cool town."

"Yeah, it's a lot better than where I used to live," was Ami's reply.

"Where'd you live before?"

"Sachito," she said. "It's not a very good place to be, but I think it's better than one of those places where all the snobby rich people live."

"Well, they're not all like that," Koji said defensively. When his dad kept moving him and his stepmother around, they lived in a town like that. "I mean, some of them can be really nice."

Realizing she must have said something wrong, Ami covered her mouth. "Oh, I...I'm so sorry," she said. "I-I didn't mean it like that."

Surprised, Koji said, "It's okay." He looked at her and smiled. _Hey, she's kinda cute_, he thought.

A couple of hours later, the last bell rang. Ami and Koji were in music. "Remember," said the music teacher, "Auditions for 'Romeo and Juliet' will be held after school today in the auditorium. I hope to see a lot of you there."

"That sounds like fun," Ami said.

"Are you gonna try out?" Takuya asked.

Ami shrugged. "Yeah, why not?" she said. "I doubt I'll get in, but it's worth a shot."

"Hey, why don't we try out, too?" Darcy suggested.

"Yeah," said Stormy. "It would be something for us all to do together!"

"Sure," said Koichi, "I'll do it."

"Hey, why not?" said Takuya. "I'm in."

"What about you, Koji?" Ami asked. "I was listening to you read some of the script earlier. I'm sure you'll get Romeo's part."

_Only if you get Juliet's part_, Koji thought. He sighed. "Yeah, I'll give it a try."

"Cool! Let's go!" Ami said. The others followed her to the auditorium.


	2. Rehearsals and poems

(A quick note: In "Romeo and Juliet", Tybalt kills Romeo's friend, Mercutio. This makes Romeo angry and he kills Tybalt. You'll see why I'm telling you this soon...Also, the two poems featured in this story were both written by me, and won't be found in any books. I hope.)

(Two Days Later)

"Hey guys! The cast list is up!" Koichi said. His friends went over to him to see if they got in the play. Koichi read the list out loud. "Takuya's Tybalt; Darcy is Juliet's Nurse; Stormy is Lady Capulet; I'm Lord Capulet." He stopped, laughing. "I knew it," he said.

"What?" Koji asked. "Knew what?" But Koichi was laughing too hard to answer.

Ami read the list carefully. After about a minute, she gasped, smiling. "What?" everyone except Koichi said.

"The part of Romeo goes to...Koji!" Ami said. Everyone laugh and congratulated him.

"Wait," Takuya said, "Who gets to play his girlfriend?"

Ami and Koichi shrugged, not knowing. This time, it was Koji who looked at the list. He sighed a breath of relief.

"Well?" Stormy asked.

"Who's Juliet?" said Darcy, finishing her sister's sentence.

"Ami," Koji said, hoping he was hiding his excitement.

"What?" Ami said, checking the list again. "Are you sure?" She looked at the last two names. They read: "Romeo Montague-Koji Minamoto" and "Juliet Caplet- Ami Miato". Ami shook her head. "There must be some mistake," she said.

"Well, there's not," said Takuya. "It's written right there. You're Juliet."

Ami sighed. "Yeah," she said. "I guess so."

(3 weeks later, at the final dress rehearsal)

"Let's try the scene with the kiss now," the teacher said.

Ami nodded and the scene started. When Koji entered, he could tell she was nervous about something, even though she was lying still, as if she were dead. After Romeo died, Koji had to keep his eyes shut, but when Ami started saying her lines, he could tell she was very nervous. _We've never done the end of the scene the way we're supposed to_, he thought. _She's been so nervous, and the teacher cut out all of the kissing part, except this last one. I never asked her why, but still, I can't help but wonder what's wrong._

"Good, good," the teacher said quietly. "Now, the kiss."

Ami nodded. She slowly leaned over Koji, about to kiss him, but just before their lips touched, she stopped.

"Well!" the teacher demanded. "Get on with it!"

Ami looked up. "I...I'm really sorry," she said, getting up, "But I can't do this." She ran off the stage. Koji sat up and watched her go. He heard the teacher sigh angrily and mumble, "In two hours, the curtain rises. In two hours, this one scene determines our success or failure."

Koji stood up and went after Ami, worried about her. He couldn't find her, but he did find the small notebook she was always carrying around and writing in, left open, and it seemed she had been writing just before she was called onstage. Without even realizing what he was doing, he started reading the poem in from of him. It was titled, "It's Hard", and it read:

"To be or not to be?

That is not the question.

To love, or not?

That is a question worth answering.

But its answer is not easily found.

For, I find my heart torn in two,

Wishing to tell you how I feel,

Yet, at the same time,

Wishing I could forget you.

It's hard to fall in love with a friend.

To cry or not to cry

For the brother who was always there,

And encouraged me to follow my heart

Who told me he would always be by my side?

But disappeared, like the wind.

He told me to tell you, my love,

To tell you how I feel.

But I am afraid

And now he's gone, too.

It's hard to loose a loved one."

At the very bottom of the page, it said "K.M.", and had a small heart next to it. Koji wondered just what it meant, and, lost in the only way he could get to Ami's heart, turned the page, to find a second one. This one was titled "Questions", and it read:

"Do I love you?

-Yes.

But will I tell you?

-No.

Why?

-I don't know.

These questions stir in my mind.

Why do I feel like this

Whenever you are near?

-I don't know that, either.

You fill my dreams,

It feels like you make my life complete.

But I'm still afraid to tell you.

Will you reject me?

Do you feel the same?

What am I to do?

I'm too scared to tell you

How much to mean to me.

If my heart breaks again,

It will never heal, I know.

Just the same,

Do I care for you?

-Yes.

Will I ever try to hurt you?

-No.

Why?

-Because, dear friend

...I love you."

This was signed AM. It looked to Koji like she had planned to send it to someone. He looked at the bottom of the page, and it said "To Koji M. If I ever get the courage to give it to him." Koji stared at that one line, amazed. He shook his head, snapping out of his daze, and mumbled, "I gotta get this back to her." He closed the small notebook and started for Ami's house.


	3. True love's kiss

When he got to Ami's house, Koji knocked on the door, and was greeted by a woman with long, black hair and brown eyes. "Hello, Mrs. Miato," he said to Ami's mother.

"Oh, Koji. Come in, come in," Mrs. Miato said. Like her daughter, Mrs. Miato had a strange tone in her voice, as if she was hiding something. Koji thought nothing of it, however, as he nodded and followed her inside.

"Is Ami here?" he asked, looking around.

"Yes, she's up in her room. Talking to Takashi again, no doubt," Mrs. Miato replied. "You can go up and see her, I'm sure it will be nice for her to see a friendly face."

Koji knew his friend's mother was a tad forgetful, so he didn't bother to point out that he and Ami had just seen each other about twenty minutes ago, and headed up to her room. Her door was opened just enough so he could see the only flickering light was from a candle on the other side of the room. He could just barely hear Ami talking to someone he couldn't see or hear.

"I feel bad for talking to you so much," came Ami's voice. She sounded very sad, but why she was this way, Koji didn't know. He stepped closer to her door, to hear her better.

"Takashi, you must think I'm a nuisance or something," she said. "But I can't help it. I really need your help." She sighed. "I really want to tell Ko-"

But Koji never heard what Ami had to say next, because Ami's stepfather yelled, "Ami! We have to go, or you'll be late!"

Koji quickly put Ami's notebook down and then ran out of the house and back to the school.

"Where'd you go?" Koichi asked when Koji returned.

Koji stopped and looked at his brother. "Um...I had to go...Drop something off," he said, running into the boys' dressing room and changing into his costume. He can out a few minutes later, wearing dark red pants, a white shirt, a matching dark red jacket, and black shoes. His hair was still in its signature ponytail, but he was no longer wearing his bandana. Not knowing what he was doing or why, he walked over to Ami, who was leaning against a wall, her arms crossed, her eyes were either closed or looking at the ground. Koji saw her as a vision of beauty: her long, dark hair was in a single braid, slung carelessly over her shoulder; the dark emerald green, velvet-like dress she wore had simple, gold-colored accents and just barely touched the floor; and her small, black shoes hardly visible. She looked bit paler than normal, but Koji couldn't tell if was because the dark red lipstick and emerald green eye shadow she had to wear that made her naturally pale complexion look paler, or if it was because she wasn't feeling good. He walked over to her, unsure what he was going to say or do when she noticed him.

Ami looked up and saw Koji. She forced a small smile, then turned and ran off. Koji ran after her, and eventually stopped her. She tried to get away, but he wouldn't let her go.

"Ami? What's wrong?" he asked.

Ami sighed, and stopped trying to get away from him. "I can't do this," she said. "I can't do the play."

"What?" Koji said, surprised. "But...You have to. You've been doing great at the rehearsals."

Ami shook her head. "That last scene...No, I just...I can't the last part."

"What, you mean...this?" Koji didn't realize what he had just said, or that he had wrapped his arms around her waist and pulled her close to himself. Until he kissed her. He could tell he had surprised her, and was kind of surprised himself when she didn't try to pull away. Instead, she had wrapped her arms around him as well. After about a minute or two, their lips parted, and they just gazed into each others eyes, both blushing.

"Romeo, you're needed on stage!" someone yelled to Koji.

Koji smiled slightly. "You can do it," he whispered to Ami. He turned and went onto the stage.

Ami fell back against the wall, breathless. She couldn't believe what had just happened. She watched Koji go, dazed, and didn't know Stormy and Darcy had come up to her until Stormy spoke.

"Ami, are you okay?" she asked.

Ami looked at her friends and nodded. "Yeah, just great," she said, still dazed.

Stormy and Darcy took a good look at Ami, then burst into a fit of giggles.

Ami looked at them, confused. "What?" she asked. "Why are you two laughing?"

"Your expression!" Darcy said. "Stormy looked the same way after she and Koichi kissed for the first time!"

"And your lipstick is all smudged," Stormy added. "So, who have you been kissing?"

Ami blushed again. "Well, he's someone you know..." she said. Darcy and Stormy started giggling all over again.

(Meanwhile...)

When Koji left the stage, Koichi and Takuya looked at him and laughed. "What's with the lipstick?" Takuya asked.

"What are you talking about?" Koji asked, confused.

That made the other two boys start laughing harder. "You mean..." said Koichi, "You didn't notice? You're wearing lipstick! But, why?"

Koji blushed. "Um...I, uh..."

"Were you kissing some girl?" Koichi asked.

"What about your girlfriend?" Takuya teased.

_Wha? Did Takuya see me and Ami?_ Koji thought. "Uh, I was...I was just...um..."

Koichi patted his younger twin brother on the back. "Don't worry," he said. "I saw you and Ami, and I told Takuya."

"Yeah," Takuya laughed. "We just like giving you a hard time."

"Gee, thanks," Koji mumbled.

(A little while later, during the scene with the kiss...)

"...Poison, and he left not a friendly drop," Ami, as Juliet, said. "I will kiss thine lips, and pray to die." (Or something like that) She bent over Koji, to kiss him, just as nervous as ever. But unlike all those times during the many rehearsals, she found the courage and gently pressed her lips against Koji's, kissing him. After a few seconds, she lifted her head and looked out at the audience as she stood up. "Alas, nothing." She picked up the fake knife on the ground by her side. "Then, Happy Dagger, let me die!" She "stabbed" herself, and collapsed, pretending to be dead. She and Koji could hear the applause they were getting. Both smiled slightly, and once the curtain closed, they sat up and looked at each other, smiling.


	4. What's done is done, what's gone is gone

(I kept forgetting to mention this, but this takes place in the winter, in January.)

"Where are they?" Stormy asked, looking for the boys. She, Darcy, and Ami were near the entrance/exit of the school, waiting. They were in their normal clothes, their makeup gone, and in Stormy and Darcy's case, replaced by their normal makeup.

Darcy shrugged. "I dunno," she muttered, "But they better hurry up!"

The boys finally came a few minutes later, also in their normal apparel. "Come on, let's go!" Takuya said. He and Darcy started off to their destination, a small restaurant. Koichi and Stormy followed soon after, with Koji and Ami behind them.

Koji looked at Ami, who had her arms crossed and her eyes on the ground. _Is she crazy?_ he thought. _Going outside, in the middle of winter, without a jacket or anything else?_ He took off his own jacket, having a turtleneck-sweater underneath, and put it around Ami's shoulders.

She looked at him, and smiled slightly. "Thanks," she said softly.

Koji nodded. "No problem," he said. "You did great tonight, really. I knew you could."

Ami smiled shyly, looking at the ground once more. "I almost didn't," she admitted. "I almost ran out in the middle of the play. Wouldn't have been the first time. But when we were backstage, when you kissed me like that...was it...Was it real, or not?"

"I saw your parents," Koji said quickly, changing the subject. "But where was Takashi?"

Ami stopped abruptly, staring straight ahead. She quickly took Koji's jacket off and gave it back to him, mumbling, "Before I forget." Her shoulders were shaking as she ran off as fast as she could.

Koji ran after her, calling her name. He could feel his brother's and his friends' eyes watching him, and he could just barely hear them as they wondered what had just happened, but he didn't care as he continued to run after Ami, eventually following her into her house.

Ami's parents weren't home; they had come back and left again, but had left the door unlocked for Ami when she got home. Koji found Ami up in her room. He was a bit surprised by what he saw...

It was almost completely dark, the only light was from a few small candles on a small wooden table. Also on the table was a picture of a boy of about 17 years old. He had spiky black hair and dark blue eyes, and it was obvious he was Ami's brother. Ami was kneeling in front of the small table, softly saying something Koji couldn't understand. He could see the tears rolling down her cheeks, and walked over to her.

When Ami realized Koji was there, she stopped whispering and looked away, hoping to hide her tears. But it didn't work. Koji walked over to her, put on of his hands under her chin, and gently turned her head to face him. "What's wrong?" he asked quietly.

Ami turned away from him. She got up and walked over to her window. "Takashi..." she said, staring out the window at the slowly falling snow. "He...He's dead." She started crying harder. Koji quickly got up and walked over to her, wrapping his arms around her and pulling her close.

"I'm sorry," he whispered, hugging her. "I should've known. That would explain why I never met him."

"He's the reason we moved," Ami said softly.

"Huh?"

Ami nodded. "He wanted us to get out of Sachito, but my mother wouldn't listen. Even after our parents got divorced, she wouldn't even consider moving. Then..._it_ happened. Afterward, she finally gave in."

"_It_?" Koji asked.

Ami nodded again as more tears rolled down her cheeks. "We were on our way home from a park one night," she said, her voice shaking. "I had already crossed the street, but he hadn't yet. When he did, a drunk driver sped through. I yelled at Takashi to stop and wait, but he didn't hear me." She had been in a bit of a trance as she spoke, as if she was reliving that fateful day. She looked up at the moon in the now clear sky, then quickly turned away from something only she could see.

Koji hugged her a bit tighter. "It's okay," he murmured softly. "Everything's okay now."

"No, it isn't," Ami said sadly. "I could've pushed Takashi out of the way. I could have...I could have..."

"Then you'd be gone," Koji said. "Everything happens for a reason, even things like death. It just happens, and no one can change that."

Ami hugged Koji. "I know," she said. "But I just wish that somehow...that I could change that."

Koji nodded. "And I wish I could say I know how you feel, but I don't," he said, gently brushing Ami's tears away. "And no one besides you ever will know. But you have to remember: He'll never really be gone. His spirit will live on in your heart, in your mind, and in your soul. I know it must be hard, but life goes on."

Ami nodded. "Yeah, I guess you're right," she said quietly. She sighed, then added, "I'm sorry."

Koji looked at her. "Why?"

"Because you got pulled into my dumb soup-opera of a life," Ami mumbled. "You probably don't want to hear any of this."

"That's not true," Koji said. "I want to get to know you better. I want to hear what you having to say. I want to...to..." His voice trailed off.

"You want to what?" Ami asked, her head ever-so-slightly tilted.

"I want to tell you...To tell you how much...How much you mean to me," Koji said. He wasn't sure why he was suddenly so nervous. "And that kiss you mentioned earlier, the one that happened backstage, that wasn't fake." He looked into her eyes. "Ami, I...I love you."

Ami looked back at him, blushing. "I-I love you, too, she said softly.

Just like before, Koji pulled Ami as close to himself as possible, and kissed her. Ami felt a mix of emotions as he held her protectively. She felt happy, breathless, and safe. Safety...that was something she hadn't felt since Takashi died. She hugged Koji tightly, glad to be in the warmth of his arms. After what felt like a wonderful eternity, Koji gently pulled away from Ami. He smiled and said, "Come on, the others'll be wondering where we went."

Ami nodded. "Yeah, okay." She grabbed a jacket from her closet, blew out the candles, then the new couple left Ami's house and headed for the small restaurant they knew their friends would be in.


End file.
